Jeremy believes that the families in the 25th district deserve to send their kids to the schools they pay for with their property taxes. Unfortunately, our school district is failing too many of our families and too many of our children. It is time to bring back the concept of community schools and we need to establish clear accountability for our charter schools. We need to hold our school board, our administrators, our teachers, AND our children accountable for the educational goals we have set for them. Lastly, we need to break down the silos that have been erected by our elected officials – school board officials, city officials, county officials and state officials need to be able to have the courage, vision and leadership it takes to make the tough decisions our children deserve. The time for finger pointing is over. The time for action is now.

The 25th district is home to some of the most amazing and dedicated foster and adoptive families in Missouri. However, Missouri ranks almost dead last in supporting families who choose to love and support victims of abuse and neglect. In addition, Jackson County has seen a 10% increase in the number of kids coming into care in the last year alone. At the same time, the number of quality, loving foster and adoptive families continues to decrease. State support for foster and adoptive families is declining at the same time support for at-risk families as almost been eliminated. It is time that we recognize that not every child gets to win the parent lottery. But that doesn’t mean that these children don’t deserve the very best of what our community has to offer. There are qualified, loving, caring families in the 25th district who would make great foster and adoptive families if only we actively recruited these families and worked hard to retain them once they were committed. As your next state representative, I will not rest until we have come up with a comprehensive, community-based plan of action to decrease the number of foster and adoptive children in our community while increasing the number of families who are willing to care for them.

Our neighborhood is home to some of the best employers Missouri has to offer. From small businesses in Waldo, to the large employers like Burns and McDonnell, we need to cultivate a culture of respect and service at the state and city level to ensure that these employers continue to invest in our community. This means engaging in real job retention activities and actively listening to the needs and desires of business owners. In addition, we need to support job creation and retention tools that are BOTH responsible, and effective. Our Mayor has started to make some significant progress in this regard. As your state representative, I will work hard with Mayor James and his team to fight for what Kansas City employers, and their employees, need and deserve.

Jeremy's father passed away from cancer when Jeremy was only 26. During his father’s illness, he went home to care for him and witnessed first-hand the challenges of navigating the health care system. He was mortified. They were fortunate to have lots of family support and the best nurses and doctors you could ask for. But still, it was like pulling teeth nearly every time they needed to get something done. His wife also experiences this first-hand on a daily basis as she cares for breast cancer patients at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. We need a health care system that works for PATIENTS. We need a health insurance marketplace that is transparent, accountable, accessible and affordable. While we have the best doctors and nurses in the world, the system in which they are forced to operate leads to some of the worst health care outcomes – particularly for those families in need. As your state representative, Jeremy will fight every day to guarantee we have an insurance marketplace that puts the needs of patients first. As well, he will work tirelessly to ensure that families of ALL income levels have access to the kind of care we would demand for our own parents and our own children.